


The Neglected Hale

by TheSchimmer



Series: The Various Lives of Alex Hale [1]
Category: Lucifer (TV), Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire (Teen Wolf), Bad Parenting, Bullying, Child Neglect, Depression, Everyone Is Alive, F/M, Full Moon, Full Shift Werewolves, Good Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Good Peter Hale, Hale Family Feels, M/M, Mpreg, Púca | Pooka, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, The Hale Family (Teen Wolf) Lives, Wolf Pack, speciest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:55:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25147318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSchimmer/pseuds/TheSchimmer
Summary: Alex Hale is the son of Peter Hale, successful lawyer and Left-Hand of the Hale Pack. Alex is also human, the only born human in the most prestigious pack in America. A pack that for 500 years has never produced a human, until now. After Alex's 10th birthday things start to go downhill, he gets ignored, forgotten about and shunned by what should be his family.This is the story of how his life develops and how he comes back from his depression.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Paige, Laura Hale/Jordan Parrish, Lydia Martin/Jackson Whittemore, Melissa McCall/Sheriff Stilinski, Peter Hale/Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Stiles Stilinski/Original Male Character(s), Talia Hale/Original Male Character(s)
Series: The Various Lives of Alex Hale [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821718
Comments: 8
Kudos: 63





	The Neglected Hale

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SourwolfSeblaine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SourwolfSeblaine/gifts).



> This will be the first story in a series that will be focussing on my OMC called Alex Hale. He is Peter's son. Each story will focus on a different dynamic and will have a different secondary theme.  
> This first one focuses on child neglect and has an undertone of Racist/Speciest rhetoric.  
> The second one will focus on good and healthy family dynamic and has asexuality as a big part of it.  
> The third one focuses on abuse but has a very strong allegory of fascism in it (which I didn't realise until I had to explain it to my family).
> 
> I would love some ideas for further works in the series. This first one is just over 17k words and I wrote it in two days. It was a crazy time but so worth it.  
> I will be getting back to my other works on this site, just haven't gotten round to it yet.  
> This work is once again dedicated to SourwolfSeblaine who is always helping me with ideas and helps me so much to write all of my work.

There were few werewolf pack in America more respected and revered than the Hales. All the way back from the first settlers to the continent up to the present day the Hale family had produced an unbroken line of almost five hundred years of born werewolves. Even when the family married humans and bitten werewolves all of their children had the wolf gene. Some were born ready to be the Alpha like Talia. Born ready to assume the lead of the most prestigious pack in America. The Hales had migrated from New England to California before humans had gotten that far, setting up a huge area of land as their home and their territory. The guarded the Nemeton that resided in Beacon Hills, preserving and protect their land from all supernatural threats. When humans had come they had let them settle and together the family and the community around it took the name of Beacon Hills.

~~~~~~

In the early 2000s the Hale family had fourteen members including the Alpha, Talia. There was Talia and her family made up of Mark, her Mate, and their three children: Laura, Derek, and Cora. Laura was married to a Hellhound called Jordan (everyone called Parrish, despite now being a Hale) and their twins Jasper and Jasinder. Talia had two younger brothers, Peter and Finn. Finn was married to a coyote called Sophia. They had two children Malia and Jackson. The middle child was Peter, the pack's left hand and enforcer, a successful lawyer and maybe the most feared wolf in America. Peter had a son, Alex. Alex was the odd one out in a century’s old history of perfect wolves. Alex was human.

~~~~~~

When Alex had been born he had been like any child in the Hale family. Small, pink and crying. As most wolves show no sign of being a wolf until around their fifth birthday their was nothing too unusual about him not showing any signs of breaking the family's long history of born wolves. His birth was unusual but not unheard of in the supernatural. Peter had given birth to him nine months after a wild night out in Los Angeles at a club. Male carriers were rare but not rare enough to be anything of major note. Regardless of who the other father was it was expected that the young Hale would be a wolf. "It had always been that way and always would be" had been Peter's response when asked about it. He was a Hale and Hales always had wolves for children. It was only later that the cracks and the doubts started to arise. Laura had been four when she had first flashed her eyes, Derek had been a bit later and been six when he had shifted into a small black wolf pup, Cora had been bang on five when she had chased and caught a mouse, proudly presenting it to her parents as her first hunt.

Alex's fifth birthday had come and gone, nothing.

Alex's sixth birthday had come and gone, nothing.

Alex's seventh birthday had come and gone, nothing.

Alex's eighth birthday had come and gone, nothing.

Alex's ninth birthday had come and gone, nothing.

Alex's tenth birthday had come and gone, nothing.

It was on the day after Alex's tenth birthday that the adults of the pack had all gathered in Talia's study to discuss the situation. Why had the young Hale never shown any sign of being a wolf? Was something wrong?

"I think we have to admit to ourselves that Alex may just not be a wolf" sighed Talia, nursing a glass of wolfsbane laced whiskey. The others all wore frowns, apart from Peter. His face was blank.

"Could you give him the bite?" Asked Finn, his arm around Sophia. He didn't know what he would have done if one of his children had been born as a human.

"Won't work. If you are born human you can't take the bite. You would just be biting him and giving him a scar for no reason" replied Mark, his birth pack had had a human born into four generations ago so he knew it wouldn't work.

"Well what do we do then?" Whispered Sophia.

"I don't know" Talia had her head in her arms.

"Well we have had bitten wolves in the pack before and I know some of the others in the pack have human mates and partners" reasoned Finn

"That's different, outlying pack members can be bitten, that is fine, it is also fine if they already have a human mate or kids but this is the family" was Talia's terse reply " Can we really have a born human pack member, born into the pack? What do you think Peter?"

"Do what you want, I have work to get to. I am also going to be away on pack business till next week, we have a treaty obligation to the Jason pack in Oregon. I already agreed to help with so you can all decide" Peter was already striding out of the office towards his Mercedes parked outside. They all waited until they could no longer hear the car.

"He won't accept him. You know that. Peter will never accept a human son, he is too proud of his heritage and being a wolf to ever accept that he gave birth to a human" muttered Finn

"Well then he shouldn't have slept with a human in the first place" growled Talia, Mark placed a calming hand on his shoulder.

"We can't have him adopted I suppose?" Was Sophia's response

" You want to put up a ten-year-old child who has grown up here for adoption? Child services need a reason for that, they would only accept babies given up by choice. We can't get rid of him that way." Hissed Mark at his sister in law

"He has to stay here. He knows about the supernatural. It is too unsafe to let him go to a human family. We will just raise him here and hope no one asks too many questions" decided Talia.

~~~~~~

When the adults finished their meeting Talia and Mark went to talk to their three children, Finn and Sophia to their two to explain that from now on they couldn't play so roughly with Alex and that they should be careful with their cousin. All the time Alex was looking for his dad but couldn't find him, if it was something important that they all needed to talk to their kids then his dad must need to talk to him. Alex looked in his dad's study, looking for him in his bedroom he looked out the window to see if his dad's car was outside but saw the silver Mercedes was missing. He was sure his dad would tell him when he got home later that evening, was probably something his dad needed to sort out with their local hunter family. When he went down for dinner it was a very quiet affair, none of the normal loudness usual of the family. Everyone was quiet and looking at their plate, every so often they would glance at Alex, the children with confusion, the adults only with pity.

~~~~~~

Alex hadn't seen Peter for six months. Every time he asked his Aunt Talia she told him not to think about it. She said he was on pack business and that was all that mattered. Alex knew his dad was important so he just went back upstairs to try and find someone to play with. Laura said she had schoolwork, Derek said he was too busy with basketball practise, Cora and Malia were playing with dolls and said that no boys were allowed as they were having a princess picnic, Alex couldn't even find Jackson so assumed he was out in the woods. He wandered down to his room and decided to do some reading, that would keep him busy until his dad got back. He had to come back soon, right?

~~~~~~

Alex's eleventh birthday was a quiet affair, normally for birthdays the Hale pack would have big parties or outings, but for Alex it was just the family at home together. Laura had recently left for college so she couldn't come but everyone else was there. Apart from his dad. Alex wanted to cry, his own dad missed his birthday. It hurt but Talia told him that his dad was very busy dealing with a threat to a pack in Boston that had a problem with a ghoul. After the party was over Alex climbed the stairs to his room. At least he had some new books he could read, he could even tell his dad about them and all the interesting things he learnt whilst he was away.

~~~~~~

Alex had always liked Derek, he had been his favourite cousin. He had always watched movies with him when he was younger. But now he and Laura were both away at college so couldn't come to his twelfth birthday party. Talia and Mark were away on a trip in Washington DC with Cora. Finn and his family were the only ones around to celebrate his birthday. His dad had sent him a text saying that he was sorry he couldn't be there but he was busy at the UN and couldn't come home for his birthday. Finn had given him a present from his father, a book about forest dwelling creatures that may live in the preserve. It was a nice present but what Alex wanted more than anything was to have his Dad back, he hadn't seen him for two years. Alex wanted to cry. He didn't. His dad never cried and he wanted to be like his dad when he grew up, successful and helping people and the pack. It didn't stop him going upstairs after the birthday lunch and going to his dad's room to curl up and read. The room was starting to get dusty and the spicy cedar scent of his dad had now faded but if Alex pressed his nose close to the pillows he was sure he still got some of the scent left there. He knew his human nose couldn't really smell anything but it was the idea that counted.

~~~~~~

Alex was officially a teenager. He was thirteen now, that was almost grown up right? Wolves matured faster than humans so Jackson and Malia were already strong and beautiful members of the pack. Malia had mastered her coyote form fully and Jackson had mastered turning into a beautiful sandy wolf. Alex wished he could be like them, a strong werewolf. But he knew he never would be. He had stolen a book from the library when curious, he knew even if he got the bite he wouldn't ever be a wolf. So he sat down for breakfast, only Talia and Mark were there eating their breakfast. At his place were two gifts, one from the family and one from his dad. He still hadn't seen his dad. Talia told him that Peter had visited briefly whilst Alex was away on a field trip. Alex was so sad that he had missed his dad but he just shrugged and thought it was the sacrifice for having such a successful dad who was so busy. He had his breakfast and took the two presents back to his room, barely saying a word to his uncle and aunt. He sat on his bed and opened the two gifts: his dad had gotten him a book on Chinese magic... in Mandarin. The family had given him a new satchel for school. Well he did need a new bag, his old one was getting a bitch childish for a teenager. Alex just sighed and went onto his tablet and ordered a Mandarin course to learn from, might as well if he ever wanted to ever understand the book he got from his dad. Alex thought there must be some reason his dad gave him this book, he can't have forgotten that Alex didn't know Mandarin, right?

~~~~~~

It was three months after his birthday when Malia and Jackson's fourteenth birthday came round. The day before their birthday Talia had come to his room and explained that Malia was going to need a new room as to expect her to share with Jackson now that she was fourteen was difficult. She said they both needed their own space. She asked, told, Alex that Malia was going to get his room as she was sure Malia would like room that overlooked the forest and gave her the freedom to go the forest when she needed. Malia had always been more in touch with her inner coyote and often went running into the forest in her four-legged form. She suggested they move Alex up to the attic, it would be a good room for him, large and quiet for him and would give him privacy. Alex just nodded. She helped him carry up his stuff to the attic, a large bright room at the very top of the house. It was a nice setup, a big bed and lots of room for his books. Alex liked reading and now had a small library of books of every subject from chemistry to warding, creatures and cook books all side by side in his own unique system that no one ever understood. He sat down at his desk and started to do his homework.

~~~~~~

Malia and Jackson's birthday was a big celebration with the whole pack, some 50 members in total including their large family. Talia had suggested that he stay in his room, she said she knew how much he disliked big crowds. He just nodded and turned back to his books

~~~~~~

His fourteenth birthday came. No one was home. The rest of the family had all gone to a big lunar dance, as his birthday fell on the wolf moon. It didn't matter. He knew it was important to the family to honour their traditions. It still hurt. Not even a present left for him, his dad hadn't even sent him a text to wish him Happy Birthday like normal. He knew what was happening, he may not be as strong as his family or have any of their senses but he was his dad's son, he wasn't stupid, he was actually very intelligent. Not that it mattered, even if he did talk during pack meetings people just glanced at him and then continued with the conversation as though he hadn't said anything. He took solace in his books and his silence. His dad gave him a generous allowance every month, far more than any other teen in the family got, almost quadruple. He had used it all to buy more books, objects and to satisfy his thirst for knowledge. Alex decided on that day to dedicate himself to this, to his books and to his silence. If his family and people didn't want to talk to him then he wouldn't talk to them. That's what they wanted obviously.

~~~~~~

High school started. Jackson immediately became the most popular student in their year, Malia was also friends with all of the most popular people in their year, namely Lydia Martin. Alex on the other hand had no friends, well he should have guessed that it was difficult to befriend the mute cousin of the popular kids. Some had tried to use him as an in with his popular, good looking cousins but he just stared at them blankly until they left talking about the weird Hale. Alex decided to go and see Deaton straight after school, he was their emissary and would maybe be able to help him. As soon as school finished he went over to the vets. Deaton looked at him and told him to come through to the back with him.

"I know why you are here Alex, but it won't work. You are human. You don't have a spark, you don't have any magic that I can sense. You are just... human." Deaton said calmly whilst tending to a cat. He looked up and gave Alex the look that everyone in his family gave him: pity. Alex hated that look. Ever since he was ten that was the look that every adult in his family gave him and now the looks had started to appear on his cousins' faces. That pitying look was the number one choice, apart from Jackson who looked like he had just smelt something terrible under his nose as though some lesser creature had walked in. Alex turned and left without saying a word.

~~~~~~

Alex went straight home and started his homework. He was so sad and lonely, he just wishes someone would even notice. Well if they didn't notice or didn't want to notice then he would do that. He rolled over to his shelves and picked up a Russian witch’s spell book he had bought from a shop in Portland. There were things she could do that didn't require magic. If she could do them then so could he. He found what he was looking for. A scent and heartbeat mute. It would neutralise his scent and keep his heartbeat steady and extremely quiet, so he wouldn't disturb his family. Looking at the recipe he took the necessary herbs and mixed a batch that was ten times that which the book said. It was not to hard but still took him until late in the night. Then it struck him. No one had called him to dinner. No one had thought enough about him to call him down for a family meal. Alex was angry but resigned. If they didn't want him at dinner then he wouldn't go. He wouldn't ruin it for them. Taking some mountain ash from his shelves he put a ring around his room. It wouldn't impede any of the wolves and coyotes on the floors below him but it would stop them sensing what happened in his room. Deciding enough for today he curled up in his bed, taking his most prized possession with him: a small wolf teddy his dad had given him years ago. It looked just like his dad when in full shift. He missed his dad.

~~~~~~

Alex hadn't spoken to anyone for a year. No teacher, no student and certainly not his family. He didn't think his family even noticed anymore. He never ate with them and would only ever go downstairs when they were all out or asleep. He always kept his blocker on, leaving almost no trace he was still there. He wondered what they thought. Maybe they thought he had run away? His allowance as always kept coming, getting his yearly increase up to a truly scarily high amount each month. He wasn't sure if he dad just didn't care about money or just wanted to pay him to keep quiet. Like he had to be paid to keep silent. He hadn't talked to anyone for a year and no one had talked to him. He was just the slim, short Hale. Quiet and reserved. His grades were perfect. He had never received less than 100 on anything. Surprising how good your grades get when the only thing in your life is school and research. Alex didn't have any friends. Well he had one friend, there was Púca who lived in the forest he was friends with, but they didn't exactly talk. The Púca just happily sat in his tree as he watched as Alex tried to make even the smallest amount of magic happen. Deaton had said he had no magic but that was according to Alex's research impossible. Even a human born to werewolves had a small amount of magic, the magic of the moon didn't just vanish into thin air. He was born via a male werewolf, if that doesn't say something he would eat his supply of mistletoe. He tried hard but nothing ever happened. He stayed as normal as any human without even a spark to ever prove anything. One day he went home, he knew everyone would be out as they had decided to go to a theme park, without him, again, when he looked at the table. Just thirteen seats at the table. They truly had removed him.

~~~~~~

Everyone, minus his dad, was in the house for his fifteenth birthday, it was a Sunday this year. Alex wondered perhaps they had remembered his birthday this year. Maybe he would get to spend some time with his family. Get to sit with them and feel like he was accepted. He went downstairs for the first time in over a year whilst his family were around. They were all in the kitchen having a celebratory lunch because Jackson had won the lacrosse game the day before. Lydia and Paige were both there happily sat in the family laughing at a joke that Finn had told. Alex turned and ran back upstairs and closed his door. For the first time ever, he cried. He cried as he realised he had been truly replaced. He knew Paige was human. They had no problem with her being there and enjoying the family. It was just him. Just him that hated and despised and forgot about. All because he had been born. Too much noise started running through his head as all the feeling he kept bottled up started to hurt his head. He didn't know why he did it but he took the knife he used for his ingredients and cut his hip deeply. Blood welled up out of the deep cut. Enough to numb out the voices. He could get the blood out of him, the blood they hated. All of a sudden, he stopped. 'What am I doing?' This isn't right. He put the knife down and bandaged and treated his cut. He was stronger than that. He just turned back to his computer and started to research anything that could help him. He was morally ambiguous just like his dad. The dad who he hadn't seen for five long years. He would look for anything that could help him, as long as it didn't involve murder or rape he was pretty flexible. He just wanted to be normal, like his family. Well his sort of family. They didn't really think of him as family or as pack. That had been their choice not his.

~~~~~~

Alex knew his father was a driven lawyer. He often saw as he did high profile law cases. A mix of environmental, criminal and commercial law. He even was part of a high-profile child neglect case. Alex could hold back his tears when he saw this online. His own father was defending a child in a neglect case and he neglected and forgot his own son. Even his Wikipedia page never mentioned that he even had a son. If you asked anyone in the Hale family about them as a group they would always leave him off the list. He doubted the rest of their large pack even knew he existed. No one had seen him apart from school for years. 'The Silent' is what Alex would call himself if he was in a fantasy drama. If only he had some any sort of strength or power to back it up. For years now he had looked for anything that would help him. He couldn't ever become a shifter because of his immunity. He couldn't ever become a magic user because of his heritage. Alex knew that there was nothing exactly wrong with being a human per se. Just to live in a world where he knew so much and could see all of these amazing creatures was even worse. At least if he had been born to a human family he could have remained ignorant and been happy. Because the truth was Alex was seriously, without a doubt, depressed. He had only his research as company. His research and his Púca. His one friend. Whilst he may not be a wolf he had grown up for the first ten years of his life in a wolf pack living within the tactile nature of his family. He missed getting hugs. He missed being able to even touch a human being. He sometimes wondered if he should go down and sit with his family. But then he realised they didn't want him. What had been his dining room seat now permanently hosted Paige, same with where he used to sit in the sitting room. What had once been his place next to Derek on the sofa had now become his cousin's girlfriend's. He wasn't angry at Derek for getting a girlfriend, he was glad his cousin was happy, he just wished he hadn't been replaced so easily.

~~~~~~

It wasn't until close to his sixteenth birthday that anything changed. Alex had kept trying with whatever he could find. He had even once looked up and the moon and asked her why she had cursed him like this and to please reverse it. Hadn't he served out his punishment for whatever he did wrong? He had talked to witches, druids, vampires, werewolves, dryads, even a few fae to help him find anything that could allow him to have his family and his dad back. He missed the pack but he missed his family most of all. His own dad hated him. He knew this now. He found out one night when the family were out at a restaurant and he had watched a red-carpet event where his dad was attending. A reporter had asked him if he had any plans of settling down and having children. Peter had laughed and just smiled " No, no plans as of yet". The reporter and the cameras may have missed it but he saw the flash of anger in his dad's eyes. His dad was angry at his very existence. He hated him that much that he wished his own son didn't exist. Alex was so angry he wanted to run, he wanted to hurt something. He ran into the forest not caring as twigs and branches caught on his arms and legs. He arrived into his clearing where the Púca lived. His little friend looked at him and then jerked his head at tree as if saying " Go on, do it". Alex don't know what came over him but he said the words to one of the darkest spells he had read about. An Egyptian Mage had made it for a Queen to defeat the Romans. It didn't work then against an army but it did work now. A flood of dark purple light raced from Alex's hand at the tree. The tree started to wither and tremble as the insides rotted and its roots were destroyed by the dark curse that Alex had thrown at the tree. Alex looked at his hands.

"What!? You knew all this time!" The Púca turned its head upside down. "How?" The Púca just made an exaggerated sniff as though telling him he smelt it.

"How is it that my family, full of werewolves and werecoyotes didn't smell it?" The Púca just blinked at him and rolled its eyes.

"How could you smell it? Is it something to do with your nature? You're a Púca. Let me think. Púca, family Praestigiatoridae, Benevolent trickster shape shifters with the ability of speech. Known for advice and protecting the broken. You can talk."

"Wondered how long it would take you to notice young one. Yes, we can talk and yes, we protect those who are broken or hurt. You have been hurt. So I protected you." Smiled the Púca, or at least Alex though he was smiling, hard to tell with the small dark creature.

"Why didn't you something earlier?" Mused Alex

"We don't speak until someone realises that we can and asks us, it is bit of our magic"

"So, do you know what I am?" Asked Alex

"I have an idea"

"And..."

"Your father conceived you in LA. Look for the people who know your father there and then find the one who would give him a son who appeared human. Not because you are but because you will always look human. Or human enough."

"What? How does that help?"

"Even a Púca cannot give you all the answers you seek. Just wait until you are sixteen" Alex let a frustrated growl as the Púca scampered away further into the dark forest, in to the parts that even Alex would not dare venture.

~~~~~~

Alex decided it was better to not talk to his family about the new discovery. They didn't want him when he was human so he doubted this would make any difference. He still went to school on his birthday with a tingling feeling under his skin, he could feel something happening. He just didn't know what. He knew not to expect anything for his birthday. He knew no one even knew it was his birthday anymore. They were too busy playing happy family, without him. His dad was busy in Japan with an enraged spirit after a company had cut down a sacred grove. He had to hack his dad's emails to find this out. He had gotten a gift of sorts from his dad, a lump sum of a hundred thousand dollars, the bank transfer had had a reference of CAR written on the transfer. Alex had decided to save it, he didn't need a car. He liked his walks through the woods on his way to school. Although he would accept his allowance from his dad, trying to buy him after six years of neglect wouldn't work. Alex was just as petty as his dad and twice as cynical of anyone being nice. If his dad wanted him then he could come back and give him the attention and love he sorely lacked. Alex went home at the end of the day. He needed to get this feeling to go away. He ran straight up to his room behind the mountain ash and wolfsbane barrier. His eyes were itching and his chest felt like it was going to explode. Running to the mirror he saw his eyes were starting to bleed into a deep red, not the alpha red but a dark ruby. His eyes glinted with a dark fire and power. That's all he knew before he fainted.

~~~~~~

He had woken up feeling groggy the day after his birthday which was luckily a Saturday. He heard voices downstairs. Looking at the calendar he saw it was a wolf moon. Just what he needed. A pack of werewolves downstairs, more than just his family. He also remembered that today was going to be a special one, the pack and Talia had decided to give a teenager the bite to cure him of asthma. Ha, so easy to become a pack member, just not if you are born into the pack. Hopefully he could sneak down and get some food before anyone noticed him. They should all be too busy outside and not be interested in the human inside. Creeping down into the kitchen he opened the fridge and started to look for the ingredients for a sandwich because he was starving. Whatever had happened to him had worn him out. He had just added the lettuce to his beef sandwich when he heard the door to the garden open. In walked a tall pale guy with a head of messy spikes and moles all over his face.

"Who are you and what are you doing in the Hale's kitchen?" Demanded the teen.

"I could ask you the same thing. I live here." Alex voice was grating and low, unused to talking after so long. Normally he would never talk to anyone but for some reason the guy had a trusting and open face that he felt drawn to.

"You're him. You're Alex Hale." The teen sounded shocked,"I have seen your name on the school list. It has driven Lydia and I mad for years. The only guy to have a perfect set of scores and beating everyone in everything. No one could ever tell me who you were." Murmured the teen "Oh, I am Stiles, my real name is a polish monstrosity so I never use it. Is your name Alex or Alexander? Or are you an Alexei or an Aleksandr? I know your grandma had a Russian name, Natasha." Rambled Stiles. "I can't believe all the odd stuff all of these years has been werewolves, it is amazing. Like who would have thought that so many people in our town were a supernatural being. I thought I was maybe the only person around who had magic or anything like that. I am a Spark by the way, so can do some cool stuff. Sorry I am rambling" Alex found himself smiling for the first time in years. This guy just had a magnet sort of optimism and cheerfulness that was hard to ignore.

"It is Alexander. Alexander Hale." Alex's voice was slowly going back to its normal, he had a deeper voice than most people though for someone his size, not that anyone had heard his voice in a long time.

"Why aren't you outside?" Asked Stiles, his face looking curious.

"It's for the Hale Pack."

"Yeah, that means you." Said Stiles, somehow looking more confused

"Ha" Alex face was blank and his laugh mirthless, "The event is for Pack. I am not pack. I am barely even a Hale; my own family hates me. My own father hates me so much he hasn't seen me in six years. You think that is pack? You think that is family? My own family hate my very existence, I am a shame to the family. As soon as they found out I was not a werewolf they abandoned me. They left a ten-year-old alone for days on his own. They kicked me out of the family. They treat my cousin's girlfriend better than me. She at least has the possibility to become a werewolf. They got rid of my seat at the table. They made me move room so that I would be further away so they wouldn't have to look at me. They forgot I existed years ago. The forgot my birthday, they forgot my parent-teacher conference, they forgot to take me on trips with them. They forgot me so much that not one of them even know I still live here. I haven't talked to anyone for two years. I haven't said a single word to anyone in my family or pack for two years and not one of them has ever come to check on me. Even when I sliced myself open on my birthday they couldn't care less. They had a party for my cousin on my birthday because he is more important to them. I am not pack. I haven't been for years, I don't even have any pack bonds. Even if you don't have a big pack you should always have one to your parent. My father couldn't stand the sight of me so much that he not come back because I disgust him and he is ashamed he bore such a pathetic waste of space. Even human partners are treated better in this pack than I am. They made me the omega and then they kicked me out further until I was just a measly piece of furniture that hid in the attic. You want the most ironic thing of all my dad won a case about child neglect and yet he neglected me, left me to suffer the apathy of what should have been my family and my pack. I heard him on the TV, how he didn't plan to settle down and have children. Guess what? He has a child. He just hates me so much he would rather I be dead or never been born. I'm just the shame, the abomination that this family hides and forgets about. Sometimes I wish my dad was right and I hadn't been born, at least I wouldn't have suffered this much." Alex was breathing hard and had tears in his eyes as he started quietly and his voice started to raise in volume until he was almost screaming at the boy across the room from him. The marble top he had been holding had started to crack under the force of the rage inside of him. A tray dropped. He looked at the door and saw all of his family standing there hands on their mouths and some even crying. And there standing next to Talia was his dad. He ran out and up to the only safe part of the house. He would have gone to the clearing but he wouldn't lead them to his secret friend. He slammed the door and turned to throw himself onto his bed and cuddled his wolf finally crying properly, howling with the pain he didn't let himself feel for years.

~~~~~~

Talia and Peter had just been going back to the kitchen to get some more salad for their guests, they opened the door and were in shock. Alex was there. Alex, the boy who hadn't been seen in two years. The boy who no one had heard speak for years. Yet Alex was talking. He was talking about them. He started out quietly before his voice started to raise. The other Hale family members ran over when they heard their cousin and nephew talking. They stood in the doorway as Peter's son started to almost shout at Stiles. They were in shock. The things he was saying. The fact that for the first time in two years they saw or heard the young Hale talk. He was getting angry, so angry. They heard as he laying down all the crimes and hurt they had put on him. Abandoning the young human, to hear that he thought they hated his very existence and then to hear that he thought his dad hated him that much that he had left him alone and suffering the agony of having no pack. Hearing how he had cut himself and hurt himself because he felt worthless to them, how truly hurt the poor boy was about his place being taken by another human. How he had heard his own dad disown him on live TV. How Peter's only son and child had wished himself never born. Peter dropped the tray he was holding. Alex suddenly looked at them. His eyes aflame in brilliant ruby and with so much anger and fury shining within, the agony and pain, his broken soul shining towards his family as they all stared in shock. He ran out of the kitchen up the stairs to his room at the very top of the house. A few seconds they heard a howl of true pain and sorrow from high above. Peter collapsed to his knees. Did his son really think that? Had they really hurt his son that badly? He couldn't stop crying. His son had believed every word. His only son actually thought he hated his very existence.

"What have we done?" Whispered Peter, his voice cracked in the middle of the sentence. Talia and Mark were standing hugging each other. Laura stood next to Derek and Cora, Derek's usually stoic face was now tear stained and puffy. Jackson just looked bored, as though his cousin hadn't just blown up their family. Finn was blinking at the spot that Alex had just vacated. Sophia had given up a pretence of control and was crying openly with her hand over mouth. Malia put her hand on Peter's shoulder and had tears in her eyes.

"We are having a family meeting; don't you dare move or argue. We are having this now so we can figure out what we got wrong and how we can fix this mess. Stiles can you go and tell everyone we will be out in a bit." Peter's eyes were his supernatural blue.

~~~~~~

The entire family sat down at the dining room table. They realised that Alex was right. He wouldn't have had a seat at the table. Parrish had smartly put a tissue box in the centre of the table before closing the door, thus sealing the soundproofing in the room.

"What did we do to my poor little son?" Was the first thing out of Peters lips

"We treated him like he was nothing. He was right we have treated him so badly. No wonder he doesn't think he is pack any more. He is right. None of us have seen or talked to him for two years. I think that is where it really went downhill. We all forgot his birthday. We went to the Lunar dance with Satomi's pack and none of us thought to ask him to come with us. But it was everything before that. We cut him out and stopped treating him like the valuable member he is." Replied Talia, her voice wavering.

"We treated him as a human in a pack." Replied Mark

"No, we didn't, we treated him as a non-pack human. Can you imagine how it felt to watch your own family care so much about each other and the rest of the pack with their human members and families. To see your favourite cousin consider his girlfriend to be worthier of a seat at the table. That means he came down on his fifteenth birthday. That is the only way he knew. The one time he comes down when we are here or awake and he sees that rather than have him we would accept one of Derek's girlfriends with open arms, even Jackson's girlfriend was there." Was Sophia's reply, she had already gotten through two tissues and was reaching for a third.

"What about you guys, his cousins. What happened? How did it get this bad that your own cousin was cutting himself on his birthday? I smelt the blood, I just thought it was one of you from playing upstairs."

"What about us? We were just doing what you told us to. You told us not to play with him because he could get hurt. That he was a weak human. I mean he is pretty weak, and small, all he ever did was read anyway" Jackson bored voice carried across the table. Derek looked enraged.

"You idiot. You really think being a wolf makes you that much more superior to our own flesh and blood. I knew Alex felt lonely but then his scent settled so I assumed he was getting better and that he just liked being alone and quiet. When Paige asked about my cousins I told her about him. I told her that he didn't like the loud family and liked reading and being separate from the rest of us. That is what mum told us when he changed rooms. He never changed rooms, did he? You made him."

"I realised he was pulling away from us. I thought he was doing it because he felt out of place with the rest of us. I thought I was helping him. And Malia needed a new room anyway" said Talia defensively.

"We have four guest rooms in this house Sister... you don't think Malia could have taken one of those and you could have left Alex in his room that was his only safe place in the house. So instead you turned him out of all he had known as a child and put him into the attic. All on Malia's birthday. Do you know how that looks? It makes it look like you were giving her his room as a birthday present and then barely a few months later we all forget his birthday after placing him in the furthest room from the rest of us. It is no wonder hates us from all the neglect." Replied Finn, an acidic not in his usually jovial voice.

"That is the last time any of us saw him." Whispered Laura "It is was the last time anyone anywhere ever heard him speak. He must have though that we wanted him out of sight and out of hearing distance so he realised that his voice no longer mattered. He has been mute ever since."

"What about you three! You are in school with him!" Yelled Peter at Jackson, Malia and Cora.

"He never talked, he never said a thing, never even had a friend. I smelt him once in Deaton's clinic, I was dropping of some paperwork to volunteer for a pet drive for extra credit. It was after that his scent just dropped. Same with his heartbeat. There was always enough to smell in the house but no one could find him by scent or heartbeat. It is all just muted down. Deaton must have taught him how." Was Cora's reply

"Alan wouldn't teach him. I asked once when I was in there and smelt him a few days later. Deaton said that he had told Alex he didn't have any magic or power so couldn't learn anything about magic." Parrish admitted looking down at the table.

"Russian Witch." Gasped Peter "That's who bought the book. I give him an allowance every month. He must have bought it before me. That dealer does first-come-first-serve. If you pay the agreed price then you get it and no one can outbid you. He must have gotten it. How big is his library?" Peter was impressed by his son

"Maybe seven thousand volumes give or take maybe a hundred." Replied Mark quickly

"How large is his allowance?!" Asked Talia her eyes wide with shock, she didn't realise that he had a library that big, that was almost as big as the Hales had themselves

"Well it gets raised every year. It is 140$ times whatever age he is per month." Replied Peter smoothly. The jaws of everyone dropped to the floor

"You gave your son almost two thousand dollars a month when he was fourteen?!" Said Sophia in shock "Isn't that a tad excessive?"

"Hey. It is my money, I pay my portion to the pack and what I do with the rest is my own business. It isn't like I give my kids anything they want anyway. Remind me who's Porsche that is in the drive" Peter snarled back at his sister-in-law.

"That was for Jackson's good grades and his sixteenth birthday, it was an exceptional present."

"Good grades" snorted Peter, Talia's eyes as well as Mark's both sparkled with mirth. "Did you hear Stiles... he said that even Jackson's girlfriend didn't have the grades that he has and she had never figured out who Alex was as she never saw him or spoke to him. Alex has the most perfect transcript ever seen by this family or by that school." A note of pride in his voice

"Then why didn't you get him a car then?" Asked Mark, not at all hostile just curious

"First of all Alex doesn't have a drivers license, secondly now I know he buys books with his allowance I doubt he would have even bought one with the money I gave him yesterday."

"More money?! Are you trying to spoil him to death?!" Hissed Sophia.

" I think we have found out my son is anything but spoilt. He is is desperate for affection, what he does with the hundred thousand is up to him" said Peter calmly, not going to rise up against the coyote

Derek's eyes bugged out of his eyes at this point

"You just handed him a hundred thousand dollars without asking any questions!" Cora also looked a little bit in shock.

"How much money my son gets or how he spends it is not we are discussing here now is it. Though it seems he has been sensible if he has so many books. Also if he bought the Russian spell book it suddenly makes sense how I have been being outsmarted by someone. Only my own son could manage to beat his father at his own game."

"You don't know the half of it." Muttered Finn in a sad voice. Everyone's eyes turned to face the usually very joyful wolf, "I have heard whispers of a human buying up every book from here to Anchorage. There seems to be a human looking for something. Something that no creature, witch, Druid could help him with. Rumour has it even the fae couldn't help."

"My son has been dealing with the fae. Just how desperate was he?" Peter had his head in his hands. "The price would have been terrible even if they could have done something. How could we let things get this bad? I know I am to blame as much as you all. I know I didn't come back enough and even when I did I came when he wasn't here. I just didn't realise how desperate he was for a family and for his father not to hate him. I don't hate him. I don't. I just don't know how to deal with it all. I wasn't made to be a father. I thought I was doing him a favour by staying away. Instead I have estranged myself from my son and made him think I hate him." Whispered Peter, tears rolling down his usually serene face.

"What if he succeeded?" Voiced Mark.

"What do you mean?" Peter's own emotion gone in a second behind his lawyers’ mask

"It was a few weeks ago. The same day it seems you had been on the red carpet and had disowned your own son on live TV." Mark waved off Peter's growl,"Remember the tree we found just inside the Púca's clearing. It was rotted from the inside out. The smell of magic was all over it. We had Deaton come check it out. He said it was powerful magic that he didn't know of anyone who would have access to the power let alone the spell. Now who do we know has one of the best libraries of magic around, Peter, I don't suppose you ever wanted to buy a book from the library of Alexandria did you?"

"Alex did that!" Interrupted Malia

"Damn, he did it again. Yes, a year ago a book came up for sale in Paris from the library in Alexandria. I tried to buy it for the pack library. The bookseller told me a person of impeccable reputation in the world of book selling had bought it. I could never find out who even though I tried to get her to tell me with an envelope of money. She said that his business was too good to lose. Seems I get outsmarted and out bought by my own son and my own money. The spell... it is powerful magic, made for Cleopatra to stop the Romans. It didn't work because the amount of magic it required it extreme. It destroys anything organic that it first touches. And you say he managed this on a tree?"

"Not even the roots survived. We tried to talk to the Púca but it wouldn't tell us anything at all. Just talked in riddles" Mark sounded slightly annoyed at this all.

"What's a Púca?" Asked Laura a bit timidly

"Shapeshifting trickster, but benign tricks and jokes. They also are defenders of people and those in harm or distress. Seems Alex qualifies. That Púca won't give up its secrets." Was Talia's quick reply, slightly more curt than usual, her daughter should know about this by now.

"It would tell us if we threatened and used claws" was Jackson contribution

"Do that and you might as well drive your Porsche to the scrapyard for it" replied Peter dryly, his patience with his nephew was wearing very thin. "A Púca will never give up its secrets except to those it is protecting, even then they won't give them fully. They are more cryptic than Deaton and that is saying something" Talia had a watery smile on her face.

"Now we have sort those things and talked it through about what he said and know how badly we have damaged him we need to talk about the broken marble top I am going to need to replace" Mark said stiffly.

"His eyes were red. But not like mum's. They were so much darker, more like a gemstone rather than a light or whatever ours look like." Stated Derek.

"What did or who did you sleep with Peter?" Ordered Talia turning to her younger brother. All eyes turned to regard the blue eyed wolf.

"I think I know what he is. But as far as I know there have only been a few in history. That night I was in LA, wanted to release some steam and relax. I went to a club called LUX." All the adults in the group gasp and went pale.

"Please don't say"

"You have got to be kidding me Bro, nice catch."

"Are you an idiot."

"Did you take leave of your senses"

"What... what is LUX?" Shouted Laura, all the teens looked confused, the name meant nothing to them.

"Maybe I should?" Asked Jordan, Talia nodded, "As you know I am hellhound. Where do you think my powers come from? The ability to go through flames and protect the supernatural from exposure?"

"Hell... duh..." Jackson said as though talking to an idiot. Finn shot a glare that would melt steel at his son.

"Yes. Hell hounds exist in hell as well as on earth. But the Ruler of Hell doesn't spend as much time in Hell as you would expect. He owns a club. A very exclusive and expensive club. Like Peter would go anywhere else" Peter just shrugged at the accusation, " The club is called LUX. Stands for luxury for most people. For those in the know it stands for light."

"You mean to tell us that Alex, skinny, defenceless Alex is the son of the light bringer?" A look of awe and shock on Derek's face.

"It would seem so my darling nephew. Alex is my son but it seems he is also the son of Lucifer"

"So, Alex is what? Half Devil..." Malia looked a tad unsure when saying this.

"I think the term may be fallen angel. Because Lucifer is a fallen angel, not just the devil. The Devil is a title but he is still an angel."

Jackson started to laugh hysterically

"So, Peter got fucked in the arse by the King of all Hell and the Devil himself"

"I wouldn't laugh if I was you Jackson consider I have seen your internet history" Sophia said when she faced her son. Jackson sudden shut up and turned bright red.

"Peter, I think we need to go upstairs and talk to you son." Talia rose as she said this "The rest of you should go outside and tend to our guests, try and calm them and say we are having a family matter to attend to" the teens looked a bit wary and Jackson looked pissed off. "GO!" Talia flashed her red eyes at the pack and they all went out to the guests.

"How will he ever forgive us?" Whispered Peter as he hugged his sister.

"Lets go see"

~~~~~~

Alex had cried himself to sleep by the time they had finished the conversation and had gone up to the attic where Alex's room was. As soon as they opened the door they realised there was a mountain ash line just beyond the door. At least they knew that Alex could cross the line without any trouble. Though logically he should be able to, he wasn't a werewolf or shifter.

"I'll get Stiles" Talia said quickly. Retrieving a few minutes later with the teen who had a concerned look on his face.

"Can you break the line for us?" Asked Peter.

"Are you going to hurt him? Are you going to hurt your son even more? I don't want to see him hurt." Peter had his fangs out and growled at the teen. Stiles didn't even look phased by the angry and dangerous wolf across from him.

"We promise not to, we just want to talk to him. Please let us make this right." Stiles looked like he was weighing up the options in his head.

"Okay, I will do it, but I stay. If he so much as starts to get scared or you start to act like you just did I will not hesitate to blow it right into your face and let you deal with the consequence" Stiles moved down and blew the line open. The magically shield around the room fell. Peter, Talia and Stiles entered the room. What they first thought was a wall turned out to be the back of bookcase. Turning into the room fully all three went silent and just stared around. The large space of the attic had been turned into a huge library. Bookcases and tables dotted around, each shelf full to the brim with more book about magic and history and the supernatural than Peter had seen apart from, in specialist libraries. He saw the Chinese book he had given his son all those years ago taking pride of place on a table in the middle. Peter was in awe at what his son had managed to collect in his room. To think he had been looking for some of these books for years, if he had only come home and looked in on his son he would have found them all here. Books that were so rare that Peter was in shock his son had them. First editions of texts that would make Deaton drool and beg to even just look at one page.

"How much did you say his allowance was and since when?" Talia's voiced in shock, she wasn't as obsessed with knowledge as her brother but even she was in shock at the true scale of her nephew's library

"140$ times his age per month, since he was one, as a trust fund to begin with but now his allowance." Stiles did a quick calculation in his head.

"You have given him just over two hundred thousand dollars since he turned one. That is insane."

"I just didn't know how to be a dad so I thought at least he would be happy with whatever he wanted to use it for."

"Seems he was more than happy to buy every book on the supernatural in the western United States." Replied Talia dryly. Peter just shrugged as though to say 'like father like son'. Their eyes were all drawn to the bed in the corner of the room. The body of Alex was on top of the covers, his face all puffy and tear stokes still visible. In his arms was the wolf teddy that Peter had given him when he was five, it was in pristine condition. Peter could now smell it as well under the lingering scent of his son’s pain, sadness, loneliness and self hatred, it smelt like him, it had his favourite cologne. It seems his son hadn't let go fully yet, he still had a chance. He went to sit down on the mattress next to son, the small dip that happened as he sat down managed to wake up his son.

"Hello, my darling little moon"

"Dad, you came back."

"I didn't want to miss your birthday, not another one, but my flight was delayed so I couldn't get here in time. I'm so sorry pup. I am sorry I left. I am sorry I wasn't the dad you deserved. I know I won't be winning any father of the year awards anytime soon and for that I am sorry. But please my darling cub, please never think I hate you. I love you with all my heart. You are my little moon and I am so sorry I said those things and that you had to here them on TV. I never wanted to hurt you or leave you all alone. I have never and will never hate you. I love you so much, even when I was away working and busy I always made sure that the teachers sent me your reports and did video parents calls with them, I am so so proud of you. You have no idea how proud of you I am. I never knew how badly you were suffering here. I though leaving you here would be the best for you, to let you grow up around a family rather than being carted around by your dad to every corner of the world for a new case. I shouldn't have run out all those years ago. I should have been a stronger man and a better father rather than hiding from you and what I thought I would do if I stayed. I knew I would make a lousy father and I guess this just goes to show. I was even worse by trying to avoid it. I should have stayed and fought for you. For your place in the pack." Peter was crying by the end of his little speech to his son.

"I don't have a place in the pack. They don't want me. No one wants me." Alex was on the verge of crying.

"That is where you are wrong Alex" Talia stepped forward, tears glistening in her eyes.

"Sorry, Alpha, I didn't know you were there."

"Alex... please. I am your aunt as much as the Alpha. Though after this whole thing I am not sure how much right I have to call myself an Alpha. An Alpha should be a strong leader and support every member of their pack regardless of their species, sexuality or abilities. And I failed in that. I have been failing you as an Alpha but most importantly as your Aunt. I let the fact that you were born as, seemingly human, to a werewolf as more important than the fact that you were a child who hadn't chosen how he was or what he had been born as. It hurts me to think of how much pain we have all caused you over the last six years and above all in the last two years where you felt so lonely and so hated that you pretty much erased yourself from existence to try and keep yourself safe. I'm sorry that it was my fault you were pretty much left abandoned in your own home. I can see you had as many defences against us as you could muster. Smart work on the mountain ash and wolfsbane, wouldn't stop anything below it but would stop anything above it. Would have kept all of us. I just wish we hadn't made you think that it was necessary" Talia was struggling to finish at the end.

"I thought you wanted me gone. I thought that when you gave me this room that you wanted me as far away as possible. I thought you wanted to make sure you couldn't hear or smell the human on me. I know what a shame it is to be born like this is a pure wolf family. I know you were all ashamed and wanted me hidden. Dad even more than the others. Having a born human in the oldest werewolf family in America. I thought you just wanted to keep me hidden. I was waiting till I was eighteen and could go to college and change my name, that way you could wash your hands of me once and for all. You had already forgotten me so what difference would it make if I changed my name and just left never to be seen again. I doubt you, or anyone in the pack would have noticed anyway. You haven't noticed me for two years." Alex was looking at his hands, playing with the wolf in his hands. Peter took his hands and brought them, and the wolf up to his lips and kissed them.

"You, my little moon, would be so missed. I would go mad if I didn't know you were safe. I know I didn't come back very often. I know I should have texted you more often, especially on your birthdays. How could I explain to my own son that I was afraid of being his dad? I was so scared when I held you that first time. I could barely breath with how beautiful you were cub. I know that Talia and I really messed up. I wish I could take back all those years, to be here for you, to be here at home so that when you came home you would be able to tell me all about your day. Instead I buried myself in my work and book collecting. Anything you want to say about all this Alex?" Peter raised his eyebrows out his son.

"I like books, they were my solace and my only friends. Ever since you got me that book for my thirteenth birthday. I started to learn, and collected more and more. Though I needed to learn Mandarin first, which took a while. Then I just started to look for a cure. So, I just bought more and more. Used most of my allowance for it. Traded some for others. It got me to where I am today." Alex gestured around the room. You could tell which books were the most important to him as they sat on the table in the centre.

"Impressive collection, maybe the best I have ever had the honour to lay eyes on" Alex preened at this, "but what by the moon do you mean by a 'cure'" said Peter

"A cure for my humanity." All three visitors nearly choked on their spit

"What by the holy moon do you mean " a cure for a humanity"? " spat Peter, Talia was also red in the face

"I was born defective, that's why I am like this, the abomination in an otherwise pure family" said Alex sadly, his voice had lost anything but sadness and resignation and what he thought was his fate. His shoulders were hunched in and the already smaller teen shrunk down to look little more than a child.

"What the fuck have you been listening to? Who the hell told you this?" Peter was apoplectic with rage, who had told his pup that he was defective.

"Jackson said that the adults were talking about it one night. Before he stopped talking to me. He said he had read a journal that said the if we had been more traditional and a proper Wolfpack then I would have been drowned as soon as it was clear I wasn't normal like the rest. He said you had been thinking about solving the problem permanently." Alex's voice was small and hurt.

"Stiles would you be a dear and take that pot of mountain ash and put a circle around Jackson until I get there? I think it is time that we had a chat with my nephew after this conversation." Talia said with an edge of steel in her voice.

"Nothing would give me greater pleasure." Snarled Stiles, looking more wolf than human at this point. He took the jar and walked out of the room.

"Alex can you look at me." Talia said as she down on the other side of the boy, " No pack, no matter how traditional would ever harm a pup, no wolf could ever hurt a pup, certainly not their own flesh and blood. To do that would be immediate grounds for expulsion of the wolf from a pack, if not a death sentence. I want to tell you right now that you are always will be a member of this pack. Even if we have had our troubles we do love you. We know we sometimes struggle to express it to you and moon knows we have failed you as a family. At least you managed to get a friend in the Púca."

"How do you know about Saborien?" Startled Alex.

"I am the Alpha of this territory, I know every creature that lives in that forest and most certainly know about a trickster fur ball, though never tell him I said that, I like my hair the colour it is. " Alex actually laughed for the first time that anyone in his family and pack had heard in years.

"Can you forgive me, can you forgive us, my little moon?" Pleaded Peter

"I forgive you, but I don't think I can forget it. I think it will be difficult for me. I don't know how to be anything anymore. I am not a wolf, I haven't been in a pack for years, I haven't been in a family for so long, I don't even know how to talk to humans. But I will try my best, just dad please don't leave me again." Whimpered Alex

"Never again my little moon, I am back for good." Nuzzled Peter into his son's hair. "Though there is something we need to talk about." Alex tensed up " Nothing too bad just something important. You aren't human." At this bombshell, Alex looked up at his dad, his eyes sharp and distrusting.

"When you were conceived I was living in LA. I had just finished a big case and decided to go out to a club. A club called LUX." Alex's eyes widened, it seems the his son was not as ignorant as the rest of his generation "I can see you already that you know what that means. I'm not your only father. You have another. His name is Lucifer. He is a fallen angel and is as the name suggests the Devil and King of all Hell. That is why your eyes change to the colour they go, that deep red. You get that from him. And it seems that you got his power if anything is go by. Though seriously... the biological rotting curse was a tad overkill for an oak tree"

"I was just so angry at you, I wanted to destroy something. I was so angry, you had just said on live TV that you were not ready to settle down and have kids. You already have one. Was I really not good enough?"

"My darling little moon, what did you want me to say or do? I am the left hand of the Hale pack, it was dangerous for you as you were a human. I wanted to protect you. Also, what do you want me to say to the human press, that I a thirty-seven-year-old had a fifteen year old son who I got pregnant with from a club night. Not exactly a good idea when trying to keep you and the supernatural safe." Peter sounded sad but also a bit exasperated.

"I guess you're right. It just hurt to see my dad on the TV seeming to openly admit he doesn't want me. It is what made Saborien tell me a bit, after I destroyed that tree. But half Devil? What other half am I?"

"Fallen-Angel technically, I would guess the other half is wolf. Just the fallen-angel cancelled it out and was too dominant to allow you to be a wolf. You have never been a human my little moon. And with this amazing library, that I am so proud of you for building, you will be probably the most powerful person in our pack. Do you know how many times you have beaten me to a book? You have some of the most loyal suppliers I have ever known. They are afraid of losing your business more than even mine, you will have to tell me how you do it. Maybe this is a case where the tree doesn't stand too far from the apple rather than the other way around?" Peter was openly scenting his son, having missed his pup, his inner wolf was purring in contentment to have his cub back.

"I think we need to go down. We have to deal with Jackson." The three of them stood up, Talia put her hand on Alex's neck and squeezed softly, reasserting his pack bond for the first time in as many years. Talia went down the stairs whilst the father and son had their first hug in six years.

"I missed you, Dad."

"I missed you Pup"

~~~~~~

Stiles had run straight down the stairs, through the kitchen with its broken marble top and straight out into the garden. Everyone looked up as he came storming out of the house. They could smell the ozone in his scent and see small flashes of lightning around him as his spark ignited the air around him. The Hales looked worried and Sheriff Stilinski was already getting Melissa behind him. He knew his son, he knew that nothing would cause his son to be this angry except betrayal of the worst kind. He knew something was going to happen and it was going to be bad. Stiles marched right up to the teenagers laughing and joking around Jackson. Lydia saw him coming and immediately moved out of the hit area. She could tell this was not going to go down well for Jackson given the look of murderous rage on the young Stilinski's face. Finn and Sophia tried to stand in his way, Stiles waved a hand, they were shunted out of his path. Nothing was getting in his way. As soon as he got within two metres of Jackson, Stiles took the jar of mountain ash out from behind him and threw it at the ground right underneath Jackson. A ring of mountain ash formed around the wolf, ash manacles binding Jackson to the ground and stopped him attacking the barrier.

"What the hell, Stilinski!? What the hell are you doing?" Derek who was standing to left started snorting, Cora was already bent over laughing. Parrish looked like he was trying to hold a straight a face but his grin to Mark was a give away. The irony of Jackson's words was not lost on them.

"I think our Alpha wants a word with you. Oh... and Peter seemed a little annoyed. I would say run but you seem to be a little trapped right now." All the Hale's faces sobered very quickly. Derek turned his glance to the house. There were not many things that scared him, the idea of his mum angry was a bit scary, the idea of an annoyed or angry Peter was down right terrifying. He looked his siblings, they all had the same look on their faces. No one wanted an angry Peter. Their uncle was usually a paragon of control, him angry and out of control was a good enough reason to leave the country. Finn looked like he had been slapped. Sophia looked visibly sick.

"What did you do?!" Yelled Finn

"Nothing, I didn't do anything. Stilinski is just overreacting and being ridiculous. I am sure it is nothing" yelled Jackson, though his eyes told another story

"Oh, I wouldn't say nothing, now would I my darling nephew" Peter was walking across the grass, his son following hesitantly behind him. Talia was following behind them; her face was grim. A shudder went through the crowd when they saw the well-dressed left hand of the pack. That was not a voice you ever wanted directed at you, that was the voice he used when he was about to destroy something.

"I haven't done anything. I am innocent" rushed Jackson

"You know what I just heard my sweet nephew, your heart tick up on 'I am innocent', interesting that. You know what is also interesting, you didn't seem at all concerned at how Alex has been treated. In fact you seemed remarkably nonchalant about the whole thing. Anything you want to tell me, my son or this pack."

"No, I haven't done anything" Jackson now looked like a petulant toddler

"You want to tell me why you told my son he was weak and pathetic, told him that we thought him an abomination, that he had to cure himself of his humanity, you want to tell me how you made him think that we might one day drown him for being human! You want to tell me how you got away with bullying him at school? I saw the CCTV, I just thought your parents would get informed. It seems not. How you could do all of that to your cousin? You want to explain any of that?" Yelled Peter, Alex was whimpering behind whilst Talia hugged him, keeping him upright.

"He deserved it! He is weak, he is a pathetic human, he doesn't deserve to be in this family. Werewolves are purer and better than that pathetic human filth. He makes us weak. You are weak for having born that abomination into this family. He deserved everything he got. It is a shame that cut wasn't on his wrists. That way I would ever have to smell or think about that filth." Jackson was yelled and spittle flew from his mouth as he shouted out all this. The Hales and the Pack looked on in shock. How could he be saying this? Finn and Sophia were in shock. What had they raised? How had they not seen their son was a wolf supremacist. Talia was in aghast, she had never heard anything so vile in her life. Derek and Cora's eyes were both glowing and their fangs and claws unsheathed. Nothing prepared them for what Stiles did. He moved his hand in a motion and the entire of the mountain ash sphere was doused in electricity. Jackson was shocked by the huge charge running through the mountain ash.

"I thought I saw him move." Was his simple answer. Peter rolled his eyes.

"I think we can all agree that we need to punish Jackson for his role in this. He is in our family so the family decides, the pack can act as jury and witness." Called out Talia. "Werewolf supremacy and its rhetoric will not be allowed in this pack by anyone, not even a Hale."

"I've ruined the pack day and party, I'm terrible I don't deserve to be in this pack" whispered Alex. Peter heard this and turned to his son.

"You deserve to be in this pack, you have always been in the pack, you were born into and that is how you will stay"

"I ask you all to stand in for this trial. Sheriff, can you preside?"

"With pleasure, I may not know as much as Stiles or the Hales about supernatural law but I will preside to see a fair trial" replied the Sheriff, the solid mask of an officer of the law slipping into place. Once arranged in a fair set up of a trial, the proceedings began.

~~~~~~

"Jackson Dorian Hale, you stand before us today to assess you actions and statements into the treatment of a member of this pack due to his born species. You have been witnessed spouting hate speech against humans and against the son of the pack left hand." Said Talia "What say you to this?"

"I did what was right and was is proper of a true wolf pack. He should have been killed a long time ago for the shame he brought on this family" yelled Jackson from within the mountain ash barrier that Stiles was still maintaining, though for some reason he was starting to look tired and sweat a bit.

"Advocating for the murder of a fellow pack member. How quaint" replied Peter.

"Quiet Peter, we are doing this by the book. So, Jackson, you admit to hating Alex for no other reason than his birth, is there any other reason?"

"Like I am the only guilty party in this family of rejecting that thing. You all abandoned him as much as I did." Smirked Jackson. Derek was snarling at Jackson whilst hugging his cousin close to him. He could smell the salt from Alex's tears.

"That is true. We did abandon a pack member, we are guilty of that. We all freely admit it. However, we will be trying to rectify that to help repair the relationship with Alex. But, none of us physically hurt Alex. It seems you have been victimising Alex more than any other person. You told him lies about what other pack members have been talking about and claimed false facts to further separate him from his family. Things would not have gotten as bad if you had not pushed Alex so far away from his family." Accused Talia

"From what we have all witnessed and heard, Jackson, did you wish your cousin had committed suicide, would you say you were complicit in his deteriorating mental health?" Questioned the Sheriff

"If I was I only did it for the pack and to get rid of the problem. Hell, I would have passed him the knife. At least it would have gotten rid of him"

"Oh, Jackson I think we both know you could have gotten rid of him yourself, just like you did with all the others" from a tree that backed onto the garden they could see the Púca. The crowd gasped. It was rare to see a Púca in the flesh, and even rarer for them to go near such a crowd, let alone speak in front of one.

"What? What are you saying Saborien?" Demanded Finn

"You think he just used that Porsche for going to school and impressing girls?" The small dark creature lifted an eyebrow as his second set of ears twitched

"Well he had been using it for school and for taking Lydia places." Replied Sophia

"And for field trips and holidays, how was your Halloween Jackson? I hear that New Mexico is very nice that time of year" smirked the Púca

"Have you been following me you messed up fluff ball." Jackson was seething

"I will have you know I am not a fluff ball, I have fur, or feathers, or hair. Never fluff. And no. I didn't follow you, I like my forest far too much to leave." Talia coughed harshly at this statement

"I do find interesting that the Heitz pack's daughter suddenly turned up dead, and come to think of it, Talia didn't the Markus pack find their twin sons poisoned just a few days later in Seattle? What do you think Peter?" Peter bowed slightly to the Púca, he knew not to disrespect the furry tricksters, especially one that helped and protected his son when he wasn't there.

"I have a vague notion of such events happening as it happen Saborien. I have been looking for a connection between all the human children of packs across America for a few years. I was worried whatever happened to them may happen to Alex. It seems that the danger wasn't in the wilderness but instead was right here in our home. A true viper in the grass"

Finn was red and shaking with rage by this point and they could all see it was directed at his own son.

"Jackson Dorian Hale, did you go and kill humans born into packs for part of your agenda? Did you kill innocent humans for no reason other than their birth? How could you! You are a monster."

"I did what was right for the glory of werewolves. We are superior to those pathetic runts of humanity. Wolves are dominant. It was right to kill them to eradicate them." After this Jackson refused to talk anymore, no matter the question posed to him.

"Mr... Saborien, may I ask where you got your information?" Asked the Sheriff

"Just Saborien is fine, I cannot tell you the full story but from my fellow Púca friends."

"Púca have a unique information system, no one knows how it works, they will never tell, but if they say it is true then it is. They are tricksters but don't lie." Added Mark

"If you all accept the Púca's word as truth we can continue." The 'jury' of pack members talked quickly and then agreed that they would accept the word of the small creature, who was busy grooming his tail.

"Will anyone speak in the defence of Jackson Hale?" The silence around the crowd was defending. Finn and Sophie turned their backs on their son, they couldn't bear to even look at their murderer of a son and the atrocities that he had committed.

"If the jury would please decide." Sheriff Stilinski called. One of the druids who was married to a wolf came forward and put a noise cancelling shield around them, even in the supernatural world the jury was entitled to private discussion. After five minutes the jury turned round and faced the pack. The lead juror stepped forward,

"We find Jackson Dorian Hale, guilty of hate speech, hate crime, murder and pack subversion"

"Jury rules guilty." Sophia fell down crying, Finn stooped to hug his wife. They knew this was going to happen but to hear it for themselves was a struggle.

"Alpha Hale, the jury finds him guilty. The punishment is up to you" said John as he stepped to the side went to hug Melissa. Talia looked thoughtful for a few seconds. Turning to Peter and Alex and Derek as well as Laura she raised her eyebrow, giving them a chance to voice their opinion.

"Kill him." Peter snarled, his eyes flashing blue.

"I would advise exile," was Laura's addition

"I think exile would give him the chance to become an Alpha and come back and destroy us all. I would suggest Eichen House, they could contain him." Derek's punishment would do the job but all of them knew that Eichen House would be a terrible punishment. They all knew that it was a terrifying place run by very amoral druids.

"What do you say Alex?" Question Talia to the teen who was currently hugging Derek and Peter's arms like they were lifelines.

"I just want this to be over, I want us to be a family again." Whispered Alex

"I have an idea. Alex do you remember a particular spell in that Chinese spell book I have you? You could do that?"

"You think I could do that?"

"It would be his worst nightmare and would be a suitable punishment." Shrugged Peter nonchalantly.

"What spell is this?"

"I would need Stiles' help but it is a very dark and powerful spell. It separates a person from their wolf. It renders them human." Jackson had stilled, his eyes widening in fear that they would do such a thing. Talia also looked uncomfortable about such a thing existing.

"Do it. My son doesn't deserve the gift of being a wolf." They all turned to see Sophia standing there, whilst she had tear stains down her face she looked resolute in what she was saying.

"Soph. Are you sure?" Said Finn from behind her.

"Pack is forever. He doesn't respect that, he doesn't respect what it means to be a werewolf, he thinks we are all superior because of it, so let his punishment be that" Sophia said determinedly

"You know I could always let Maze have her way with the weasel who hurt my son." They all turned to see a tall, dark haired gentleman walk into the garden. "Lucifer Morningstar at your service. Now you, young Jackson, have been a very bad boy. A very bad boy indeed. You hurt what was mine. And I don't like people that hurt that which is mine." For the rest of the pack the gentleman just looked like the well dressed sort of guy who Peter would know and have a child with. For the Hales it was like a bomb had gone off. Jackson paled even further. The rest of them were in shock, the literal Devil was standing in their garden. Alex looked at the man in front of him in shock and in longing.

"Papa?"

"You don't think I would let you face this alone now did you?" Lucifer's eyes flared into a dark red, Alex's flashed right back at him.

"Where have you been all these years?"

"I don't want to scare you but it has been like going to hell and back." Lucifer smirked. "Hello, my dark wolf, my my did you grow up even more handsome than I thought possible. We should have a catch up." The smirk promised many a fun night for Peter. "Now, Alex, your choice, what do we do with Jack."

"It's Jackson." Yelled the wolf from inside his prison

"I frankly cannot tell you how little I care."

"I'll do the spell. Maybe make everyone go inside for a bit. I want only Talia, Mark, Dad, Papa and Stiles here for this." The rest of the pack nodded and turned to go into the house. Sophia and Finn looked unsure.

"Trust me, you don't want to see this." Said Peter. The two turned back to the house and closed the door as they went in. All the remaining people turned to face the wolf.

"You okay Stiles?" The human looked a bit weak and pale from keeping the barrier up so long.

"Sure, just get this over with and then get me curly fries and Mountain Dew." Stiles said tiredly. Alex started to look at his cousin.

"I don't know where it went wrong between us Jax, we used to be close. Where did it all go wrong? When did you become this?"

"When I realised what a pathetic thing you were. Weak, not worthy to even be a Hale, not good enough to ever be in the pack. It is a shame you didn't kill yourself when you had the chance!"

"Even now when you know I am not human?"

"You are still weak. Going to get daddy to do it for you? Too much of a wimp to do it yourself."

"That's where you're wrong. I always wanted to make my dad proud and I always wanted to be like him. I'm sure I will find something I can make Papa proud of soon." Alex closed his eyes, when he opened them again they were like pure garnet, dark and fully of flame and dark. Power flooded off his body, Talia could feel the waves of pure dark power pulsing out from her small nephew.

"Wǒ bōduóle nǐ de láng. Nín jiāng zài yě bù huì gǎnjué dào yuèliàng." The spell was a sickly red, like the moon when eclipsed. Peter could feel the pure power of the beam of light that Alex fired at his cousin. Talia's wolf was whining at being anywhere near such magic. Mark had to turn away from the raw energy that his nephew was pouring into the spell. Lucifer looked on with a note of pride on his face, his son really was incredible. Alex was pouring huge amounts of his new found energy into the spell, he wanted to protect his family, to protect his dads and to protect his pack.

"You will never hurt me or my pack again you traitor." Alex face started to shift, his dark red eyes staying the same as his face took on a more aristocratic set of features. His canines sharpened down into sharp points whilst his body shifted to look like a mix of his to fathers as they stood at his shoulders. Tall and slim with broader shoulders, not as broad as Peter but certainly more that his previous physique. The spell was still flooding Jackson with sickly red light. They could see as the shell of his wolf aura appeared and was ripped apart piece by piece by the ancient spell. When the final piece was gone a howl went into the sky before being cut short. Alex keeled over as the spell ended. Stiles also dropped the mountain ash as he fainted and Jackson was out cold on the ground.

"I've got Alex. You go and take the weasel." Said Lucifer as he picked up his son. Peter loped over to Jackson before just dragging him along the floor. Mark had Stiles in his arms as they all went towards the house and the rest of the pack.

~~~~~~

The next morning was a new day for the pack. Alex had removed the mountain ash in his room and washed off his scent blocker for the first time in two years. The family's wolves and coyotes were happily dancing in their chests that their Pack mate was back. For all of them apart from Talia and Peter they had never set foot in Alex's room, apart from the adults none of them had ever been up the stairs, never having needed to go to the attic or Alex's room. The God smacked looks on their faces was all worth it for Alex as he stood with his dads in the centre of the room.

"This is all yours, this is your library?! How." Gasped Derek, he was a lover of all books beneath his gruff jock exterior. He was salivating at the idea of even getting to touch some of these books. Laura and Cora had never been big readers but were still impressed by the huge array of books.

"I told Peter you had seven thousand books plus or minus a hundred or so. I think I was underestimating. How many are there?"

"Including the more mundane ones that I keep in storage maybe ten thousand. Dad's allowance was helpful."

"I would hope so given that you have had almost two hundred thousand dollars from him just in allowance" muttered Talia.

"Why does Alex get such a big allowance?" Asked Laura

"Think of it as bad parenting payment, and you can hardly complain Laura... all three of you are the definition of trust fund babies" said Peter rolling his eyes.

"Also he spends it more sensibly than you three do." Said Mark holding up his hands in defence when the three turned towards him.

"Can we have breakfast? I'm hungry and that magic took a lot." Asked Alex. The entire family went down to the dining room where they saw the table had been extended and two extra seats added.

"Why are there two extra seat?" Asked Parrish

"Well where do you expect Alex and his dad to sit, darling" Laura said as she hugged him. For the first time in a long time Alex sat down at the table and started to eat with his family, Derek by his side. The comfort of having his favourite cousin next to him calmed Alex down, his dad was on the other side, with Lucifer opposite his dad. The two of them seemed oddly interested in each other.

"Maybe my dads are going to get back together?" Whispered Alex to Derek

"You know I think you may be right." Derek whispered back. The fact that Peter didn't even seem to notice added to this theory. The table went quiet when Finn and Sophia walked in. Finn just plopped down in his seat and dragged the coffee towards him whilst Sophia buried herself taking her favourite cranberry juice out of the fridge.

"How are you?" Queried Mark from over his newspaper.

"I think still in shock. Where did we go so wrong with him? I mean Malia turned out fine. What went wrong with Jackson?"

"I don't think it was your fault, I think he got into it himself. I think we may have started this idea that humans are weaker because of how we treated the situation six years ago but these ideas he had reek of some extremist groups. I know Deucalion had one of his wolves radicalised as well. He had to put him down. I guess we are lucky that we didn't have to do that." Said Talia, a note of sympathy in her voice as she put her hand on her brothers sloped shoulders.

"What do we do with him now?"

"He is going to have to be with someone on twenty four hour guard. We can't let him get away and we can't let him become a danger to the pack. Mark installed a lock on his door. He is only allowed to go to school, otherwise he is to be here at all times. House arrest for the rest of his life, or until he learns from his mistakes and repents, though I doubt that will happen."

"His life as he knew it is over, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is. I will ask Duke if he has any ideas. If it gets out which packs were attacked and who was murdered by him then they will demand his head and I would be inclined to give it to them. I would do the same if one of my pack was murdered"

"Well I can tell you he is in for a lovely time downstairs." Smiled Lucifer

"Not exactly encouraging Mr Morningstar." Said Sophia from across the room, her glass of juice on the cracked marble top.

"Just telling the truth, because if there is one thing I am it is a man of my word. Just like I told Peter all those years ago "I will find you again" and see I did."

"You're the devil, please excuse me if I don't take your word." Sophia said bitterly. Lucifer just shrugged as though it didn't matter either way. Alex look out from under his fringe to see Peter looking at Lucifer with the most in love look he had ever seen on his dad's face.

"Twenty dollars on a spring wedding?"

"You're on little cousin." Said Derek ruffling Alex's hair.

~~~~~~

**Six months later**

Turns out neither Alex nor Derek won the bet, they were beaten out by Stiles. He bet on them eloping to Las Vegas which they did on February 29th that year. Their excuse was that it meant less anniversaries to forgot.

"Ever the romantic" was Talia's exasperated response to this bit of information.

The Hale family had managed to repair their relationship, it had taken a lot of therapy session, alone, in small groups and as a whole family. Alex was pretty sure they managed to keep an entire supernatural psychology firm in business for a year given how much therapy the family had. They had all agreed to go to a telepathic practise. The argument that started over where to go had been explosive to say the least. But eventually they all agreed having a therapist who could read the emotions and thoughts in the room was a better idea than relying on anything else. Lucifer had skipped out on the therapy, saying that he didn't want to drive the therapist mad in less than a minute of sitting down in the room with a supernatural therapist who could read his millennia of memories, so he, Alex and Peter had had their own private sessions with Lucifers psychotherapist in LA to work through their own small family's troubles and insecurities.

The Jackson problem had been resolved, not by any action of their own. Jackson had slipped away from his guard one day in school and had headed to the werewolf supremacist group he had been a part of. He had asked for the bite, wanting to have his werewolf status back, to have his power and be superior to the humans he seemed to despise. Alex was sat at the dinner table lazing next to Cora and Derek when he felt his magic flare. His eyes flashed to their dark red, his face shifting to show the face hidden beneath, as well as his ethereal wing outline.

"I warned him. He will die."

"What do you mean?" Everyone's attention snapped to him as Talia asked.

"He tried to get the bite. It will reject and he will die. I can't stop it. It will kill him. I can't stop it. I'm sorry." Alex was nigh hysterical by this point.

"Alex don't worry. You warned him, he chose this path." Finn reached across the table to his nephew as he said this "You did nothing wrong."

"Don't worry Pup. You did what you could." Peter moved Cora out of the way and cuddled into his son as he burrowed into his father's arms. Lucifer who was drinking a seemingly never ending glass of scotch tilted his head to the left as though listening.

"It is done." Sophia burst into tears, Finn followed her out of the room. Alex was worried they would hate him for what his magic had done to their son. They came down a few hours later and told him they never blamed him for this. That it was Jackson who had signed his own death warrant.

Stiles had become a permanent fixture in the Hale house. He loved to spend his time reading all of the books that Alex and the Hales had. The ADHD spark was often found passed out over tomes and books with a pile of notes around him. This continued until Alex started to tuck him into bed. Eventually this led to the two of them curled up together. Lucifer and Peter took some photos so the rest of the pack could see the two of them, curled up together. Derek just smiled whereas Laura had burst into howls of laughter.

"Fifty dollars on them kissing midsummer"

"I'll get in on that bet my darling niece." Smirked Peter as he looked at the photo of his son and his soon to be boyfriend, whilst Lucifer hugged him from behind and kissed his neck.

"Not such a bad dad after all"

FIN 


End file.
